The Green Flag Community Award recognises community-managed green spaces that are welcoming, well maintained and provide a positive benefit to the local community.

For the plot holders at The Watton, the allotment is about much more than growing fruit and vegetables. It is a place to spend time outdoors, share knowledge, and enjoy being part of a community, while also providing an important space for wildlife and nature.

The allotments also play an important role in supporting local food growing and sustainability. Growing fruit and vegetables locally helps to reduce food miles, while encouraging people to make use of locally produced food wherever possible.

On 27 August, the Mayor of Brecon, Cllr Sian Drinan, visited the allotment site to help celebrate and acknowledge the Green Flag Community Award. During her visit, she spoke with plot holders about the importance of growing produce locally where possible, reducing food miles and the positive contribution allotment holders make to the wider community.

A key part of this contribution is the support plot holders provide to Brecon Foodbank, with surplus fruit and vegetables donated during the growing season. These donations help ensure that locally grown produce is put to good use rather than going to waste, while supporting people within the local community.

Sustainability is also an important part of life at the allotment. A recent example is the support from B. Jenkins & Sons Ltd in Brecon, who donated pallets to the site. Rather than going to waste, the pallets have been given a new lease of life and are being reused around the allotment. It is a simple example of how reusing materials can reduce waste, while also showing how local businesses can support community projects.

The Green Flag Community Award recognises these wider efforts from maintaining the site and supporting wildlife, to encouraging sustainability, growing food locally and bringing people together.

The committee said: “We would like to thank all the plot holders for their continued hard work and commitment, Cllr Sian Drinan, Mayor of Brecon for visiting the site, and B. Jenkins & Sons Ltd for their support.

“Watton Allotments continues to be a place where people, plants and wildlife can thrive, while making a positive contribution to the local community.”